© haleproducts.comTwo companies doing business with Yuval Marshak
Yuval Marshak entered his plea to one count of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of major fraud against the United States in US District Court in the state of Connecticut, the release explained. "This conviction is the result of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's (DCIS) ongoing effort to identify and investigate fraudulent activity targeting the Department of Defense and its programs that support America's national security and foreign policy objectives," DCIS Northeast Field Office acting special agent in charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey stated in the release.
According to court documents, Marshak carried out three separate schemes between 2009 and 2013, in which he falsely certified that all items sent to Israel had been made in the United States, as required by law, the release noted. Marshak also falsely claimed that no commissions had been paid, when a company in Connecticut that was controlled by a relative received undisclosed payments, according to the release.
Two US companies have already settled charges with the Justice Department in connection with the FMF contracts. Earlier this year, the New Jersey-based defense contractor Octal Group agreed to pay $460,000 in fines and restitution for covering up an agreement with Marshak. A second company, Hale Products, Inc. paid more than $60,000 and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department investigation.
In addition to fines, Marshak faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for wire and mail fraud charges, ten years for major fraud against the US government and 20 years for international money laundering.
Comment: Temporary travel bans are not exclusive to Trump's administration. The Immigration and Nationality Act clearly gives the president the authority to use his discretion to restrict or "suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants." It is legal for President Trump to issue the ban. In fact, the past six presidents have issued executive orders banning certain categories of immigrants from entering the country for a period of time.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Obama invoked his immigration authority on 19 occasions. President George W. Bush invoked it six times. Bill Clinton used it 12 times. George H.W. Bush used it once, and Ronald Reagan used it five times.